Fluid control valve



Feb. 19, 1952 E. PAILLE 2,586,249

FLUID CONTROL VALVE Filed NOV. 26, 1946 Snventor Eveline .QQ/uf;l

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Gttorneg Patented Feb. 19, 1952 FLUID CONTROL VALVE Eugene Paille, Los Angeles, Calif., assigner to General Controls Co., Glendale, Calif., a corporation of California Application November 26, 1946, Serial No. 712,328

, 1 My present invention relates to uid control valves, and more particularly to those of the type which include a plug rotatable to normally control ow through the valve, and a safety shut-oli valve normally retained in open position by means responsive to a, controlling condition, such as temperature or pressure. Such an arrangement has particular utility in connection with a gasburner system comprising a main burner and a pilot burner therefor; ow to the main burner being controlled by the plug valve, and the pilot burner being connected to the valve structure between the shut-01T valve and the plug valve; means responsive to the iiame of the pilot burner being employed to maintain the shut-off valve open.

A general object of this invention is to provide a valve of the character described which includes means for opening the shut-olf valve only While the plug is in closed position, so that (in the example cited) the pilot burner can be lighted only while flow to the main burner is obstructed. A more specific object of the invention is to provide, in a valve of the -character described in the preceding object, means for generatingV iiuid pressure for opening the safety shut-01T valve; the arrangement being such that the plug must be in its closed position before the requisite uid pressure can be generated.

For full understanding of the invention, and further appreciation of its features and advantages, reference is to be had to the following detailed description and accompanying drawing, and to the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view of a valve structure embodying my invention;

Figures 2 and 3 are transverse sections taken, respectively, along the lines 2--2 and 3 3 of Fig. 1; and

Figure 4 is a View corresponding to that of Fig. 3, showing the parts in moved positions.

In the drawing, the numeral II indicates a valve casing having an inlet passage I2 and a main outlet-passage I 3. Seated in a tapered bore communicating with said passages is a plug I4 having in its bottom an opening I5 from which branches a side opening I6 adapted to be placed into and out-of register with the outlet passage I3 by rotation of the plug to control fluid flow through the casing; a lug II on the plug cooperating with abutments I8 andIB (Fig. 2) in the casing to limit the rotation of the plug to approximately 90.

Also controlling flow through the casing is a 5 Claims. (Cl. 137-44) safety shut-off valve comprising a disk-shaped closure 20 cooperable with an annular seat 2| formed in the casing below the plug I4. The closure 20 is biased toward closed position by a spring 22 compressed between it and a plate 23 covering the bottom of the valve casing; the closure being threadedly secured to a rod 24 hav-f ing a hexagonal lower portion 25 freely fitting a corresponding opening through the plate 23.

For operating the valvethere is a handle 26, the stem 21 of which extends through an opening in a cover 28 screwed on the hollowed-out top portion of the valve casing; the stem being shown broken to indicate that it may be long enough to reach the valve from the oor-level when the valve is located adjacent a door-furnace. The inner portion 29 of stem 21 is enlarged in dia-,meter and bored to provide a cylindrical cavity or cylinder 30; the lower part 3I (below the broken line 32) of the stem-portion 29 being squared to fit freely in a square opening 33 in the upper part of plug I4. The stem 21 is urged upwardly by a spring 34 compressed between the plug I4 and a shoulder formed at the top of stem-portion 29; a, light spring 35, compressed between the portion 29 and a, sealing gland 36, limiting upward movement of the stem.

A close sliding nt in the cylinder 30 is a piston 31 formed by an enlargement of the shut-off valve rod 24. As is best seen in Figs. 3 and 4, this piston has an axial opening 38 and a communicating transverse opening 39, and the surrounding squared stem-portion 3| is slotted vas indicated at 40, so that with the parts in the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 3 if the stem is depressed uid escapes from cylinder 30 to the hollow interior of the plug I4 and thence to the outlet I3 of the valvethe piston, under the force of spring 22, remaining stationary. However, if the plug I4 is first rotated (by means of handle 26) from its open position as shown in Figs. 1-3 to its closed position as shown inFig. 4, the piston-opening 39 will then be out of cornmunication with the slot 40 (rotation of the piston being prevented by the hexagonal lower portion of rod 24) so that uid is trapped in the cylinder 30 and depression of the operating stein or handle effects (through the compressed fluid) depression of the piston 31 and opening of the shut-oi valve.

For retaining the shut-oli valve in open posi-1 tion there is rockably mounted on the bottom of rod 24 a disk 4I which is of magnetic material and constitutes an armature cooperable with an electromagnet 42 mounted in a cup-shaped housing 43 secured to the bottom of the valve casing; the electromagnet comprising a U-shaped core 44 having around one of its side arms an energizing coil 45 the leads of which are connected to terminals 46 insulatingly mounted in the side wall of the housing. Also connected to these terminals is a thermoelectric generating device or thermocouple 4'1 of conventional construction and having a hot-junction portion 48 adapted to be heated by the flame 49 of a pilot burner 50 which, when the valve is employed in a gasburner control system, is supplied with fuel by Way of a passage I in the valve casing between the shut-off closure 20 and the plug I4; the pilot burner also serving to ignite a main burner (not shown) connected to the main outlet I3 of the valve.

With the parts in the positions shown in Figs. 1 3, to initiate operation of the burner system the plug I4 is rotated by :means of the handle 26 in a counterclockwise direction through 90 so that `the position of the cylinder-body 3i with respect to the piston 31 is as shown in Fig. 4; depression of the handle then eiecting (as describedabove) downward movement of the piston and rod 24 so that the shut-off closure 20 is unseated and the armature 4I brought into engagement withthe pole-faces of the electromagnet 42. While holding the handle in depressed position the gas thenflowing to the pilot burner is lighted so that after a brief interval the thermocouple 4l is heated to a degree such that electricity is thereby generated in an amount sufficient to energize the electromagnet to hold the armature and connected parts, whereupon the handle can be released and subsequently rotated .to control the supply of gas to the main burner. Since, by the arrangement described, the main burner cannot be supplied until after the pilot burner is lighted, the possibility of accumulation (as in a furnace) of gas in an amount suicient to cause a dangerous explosion is prevented. In the event of extinguishment Yof the pilot burner, upon cooling of the thermocouple the electromagnet is deenergized so that the armature is released Vand it and the parts associated with it return, under the force of spring 22, to their elevated positions as shown in Fig. `l; it then being necessary to manually-reset the valve in the manner hereinbefore described.

The specic embodiment otmy invention herein shown and described is obviously susceptible of modification without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I intend therefore to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

-I claim as my invention:

l. In combination: a valve casing; an apertured plug seated 4in said casing and rotatable to control flow therethrough; a safety shut-off valve also controlling the iiow through said casing, said shut-off valve being biased to closed position and ,adapted to be opened by fluid pressure; a system for generating said fluid pressure and for oper.- atively applying it to said shut-off valve; a handle rotatable to operate said plug, said handle also forming part of said pressure-generating system and being reciprocable to generate said uid pressure; and means, eieetive only while saidplug inopen position, for permitting said pressure-duid to escape so Vas to prevent opening `of the-shut-off valve.

2. ,In `combinatioma valve casing; an aper- 4 tured plug seated in said casing and rotatable to control ow therethrough; a reciprocable safety shut-ofi` valve in said casing and also controlling the flow therethrough, said shut-off valve being biased to closed position; a fluid-pressuregenerating system for operating said shut-off valve to open position, and comprising a cylinder member and cooperating piston member, one of said members `being operatively connected to said shut-01T valve; a handle rotatable to operate said plug, said handle having for that purpose a noncircular portion received in a conforming opening axially disposed in the plug, said handleportion being reciprocable in said opening and being soassociated with the other of said pressure-generating members that reciprocation of the handle effects reciprocation of that member to normally generate pressure in said system; and means, effective only while said plug is in open position, for permitting fluid to escape from said pressure-system so as to prevent opening of the shut-01T valve by reeiprocation of the handle.

3. In combination: a valve casing; an apertured plug seated in said casing and rotatable 'to control flow therethrough; a reciprocable-safety shut-off valve in said casing and also controlling the iow therethrough, said shut-01T valve being biased to closed position; a uid-pressure-generating system for operating said shut-oi valve to open position, and comprising a cylinder member cooperating piston member, one of said members being operatively connected to said shutoff valve; and a handle rotatable to operate said plug, said handle having for that purpose a noncircular portion received in a conforming opening axially disposed in the plug, said handle-portion being reciprocable in said opening and being rigidly connected to the other of said pressure-generating members so that the same is reciprocable by the handle to normally generate pressure in said system, as well as being rotatable along with the plug; vand means for preventing rotation ofI said one of the members; said members having openings, so disposed -that they are in register only when the plug is in open position, through which fluid can then es cape from said pressure-system so that opening of the shut-off valve isprevented.

4. In combination: a valve casing; an apertured plug seated in said casing and rotatable to control flow therethrough; a reciprocable safety shut-01T valve in said casing and also controlling the flow therethrough, said shut-'oil valve being biased to closed position; a fluid-pressuregenerating `system for operating said shut-oilE valve to open position, and comprising a cylinder member and cooperating piston member; a handle for rotating said plug and having a noncircular portion reciprocable in a corresponding axial opening in the plug and forming one of said pressure-generating members, the other of the members being operatively connected `to 'said shut-01T valve; and means for preventing rotation of said other of said members; said members having openings, so disposed that they are in register only when the plug is in open position, through which fluid can then escape from said pressure-system so that opening of the .shut-off valve is prevented.

5. In combination: a valve casing; a plug seated in said casing and rotatable to control now therethrough', said plug having for that purpose an opening in one end thereof anda communicating transverse opening; said casingproriding a safety shut-off valve-seat adjacent and surrounding said end-opening ofthe plug; a safety shut-off closure movable along the axis of said plug into and out-of engagement with said seat and biased to seat-engaging position; a fluid-pressure-generating system for operating said shut-oi closure to open position, and comprising a cylinder member and cooperating piston member; a handle for rotating said plug and having a noncircular portion reciprocable in a 10 corresponding axial opening through the plug and forming one of said pressure-generating members, the other of the members extending through said axial plug-opening and being connected to said shut-off closure; and means for preventing rotation of said other of said members; said members having openings, so disposed that they are in register only when Vthe plug is in open position, through which uid can then escape from said pressure-system so that op ning of the shut-oil' clos is prevented. L55- EUGENE REFEIDEENCES CITED The following ref ences are of recordr n the le of this patent l UNITED SfIvlTES PATENTS Name' Number Date 

